Jackson calls for end to ‘vigilante’ laws

The Rev. Jesse Jackson joined local ministers and Houston Congressman Al Green at a news conference Thursday to call for an end to “Stand Your Ground”-type state laws across the nation and an end to gun violence. | Credit: Nick de la Torre, Chronicle

The Rev. Jesse Jackson joined local ministers and Houston Congressman Al Green at a news conference Thursday to call for an end to “Stand Your Ground”-type state laws across the nation and for an end to gun violence.

The presentation at the Metropolitan Christian Methodist Episcopal Church came one day after George Zimmerman, a central Florida neighborhood watch captain, was charged with second-degree murder in the February fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. The teen’s death has sparked an international outcry for the arrest of Zimmerman, who was released from police custody the night of the incident based on Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. Numerous “Justice for Trayvon” rallies and protests have been held in Houston over the last few weeks.

“Let’s not forget that Mr. Zimmerman represents a first down, not a touchdown – the beginning of a process. But far beyond him, the victory is not in how long he stays in jail. The victory is in repealing these draconian, stand your ground, self-defense, vigilante laws,” Jackson told reporters along with others attending a church conference. “These laws incentivized vigilantism, take-the-law-into-your-own hands, kill or be killed. That’s beneath the civility of a great nation.”

Green clarified that although Texas does not have a typical “Stand Your Ground” law, the group is calling for the repeal of the state’s Castle Doctrine relating to self-defense.

“The Castle Doctrine, as you know, has to do with one’s home, but we’ve extended the Castle Doctrine beyond the home and while we don’t call it Stand Your Ground you might recall that the Castle Doctrine was used to justify a homicide in Pasadena where two persons were shot outside of the man’s home after the man was told not to go outside,” Green said, referencing the 2007 Joe Horn case. “So while they may not call it Stand Your Ground, the essence of what’s being done is the very same thing and it’s time for us to pull down Stand Your Ground. It’s time to make Castle what it has traditionally has been – a person’s home.”

Jackson and Green, who were flanked by a dozen black faith leaders, said they hoped to be joined in the future by ministers of other races and ethnicities.

Jackson also linked repealing Texas’ new voter ID laws, the lack of health insurance among Texans and the subprime mortgage loan crisis that caused mass foreclosures as other examples of profiling that disproportionately affected people of color. The founder and leader of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition also said he hoped those who have been protesting in hoodies and with their voter registration cards “will use this as a transformative moment.”